The Last Dragon Egg
by story-untold15
Summary: There are four dragons left in the world. Three of these dragons have hatched. The fourth is still out there. Until the day a simple farmgirl finds it and becomes the fourth Dragon Rider. THIS STORY IS ON HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

The wind whispered softly over the singed grass. The house was reduced to mere ashes on the ground. In the center of that was a single oval shaped purple stone.

Areyna Vasili swung the basket back and forth in her hands. She'd been gathering fruit pretty much all day, hoping against hope her father had succeeded in killing something. They couldn't afford the butcher, so all was depending on his catch. Maybe Peter had caught something. Peter was her twin brother and he'd been fishing. The entire Vasili family had felt the recent hunger pinch.

When she first stumbled upon the scene she thought she'd taken a wrong turn. This wasn't her house. She stepped closer to the pile of ashes and recoiled. Three charred skeletons of various sizes lay scattered among the wreckage. All that remained was the purple stone she'd found days ago.

Finding the stone had scared her. She had heard of the new rider Eragon and his adventures among the Varden. Ever since she'd picked up the stone she had a nagging suspicion that this was a dragon egg.

Something moved, catching Areyna's attention. Her eyes flickered to the stone and her heart slammed up into her throat. _The stone was shaking._

Before her eyes, the stone cracked and split in two. A glimmering white tooth, smooth as glass and sharp as a sword sliced through the remaining thin membrane and out poked a little purple dragon.

Areyna walked up to the creature slowly, extending her hand. It nuzzled up beneath her palm. A noise behind her made her start.

"What is that?"

"Peter," she said, relieved, "This is… a dragon"

Before he could say anything else the steady beat of horse's hooves against the terrain made them turn. A man with scarlet hair and the most frightening face he'd ever seen dismounted and walked toward them with his face twisted in what barely resembled a sadistic grin. He beckoned them with the crook of his index finger.

"Give me the dragon."


	2. Chapter 2

"Give me the dragon," the man repeated icily. Areyna backed up further and shook her head. Behind her, Peter raised his bow.

"I think not," the man said.

"Who are you?" Areyna stuttered. She tripped and fell into the ashes. Her hand, thrown out at the last second to catch her fall, struck something hard. Without giving any indication she was doing anything she picked it up. Tears hazed her vision. This was her father's old rusty sword. This was her house. So the skeletons were… She didn't want to think of that now.

Meanwhile the little dragon stepped closer. Confidence and curiosity coursed through Areyna's body, though she herself felt nothing but raw fear. Peter aimed his bow and fired. Before Areyna could look away, she saw the man catch the arrow and snap the wood with a loud crack. She winced.

Suddenly the word Shade crossed her mind. She wondered where it had come from. Searing pain stabbed at her skull. She tried to fight it off and failed. Where was this coming from?

The man, no the Shade, she corrected herself, muttered a few barely intelligible words. Peter was thrown off of his feet and into a nearby tree. Areyna couldn't watch. He was the last family she had left.

Suddenly she felt a stab of bravery. In one smooth movement she leaped to her feet, swinging the sword with all of her might. It cut deeply into the Shade's side. Blood poured onto the ground in a scarlet waterfall. Groaning hideously, he collapsed.

Areyna didn't wait to see what happened next. She spun on her heel and sprinted away from the terrible scene, calling for Peter.

Besides hands mangled and bloody from catching a tree branch, Peter was fine. Together they mounted Midnight, their horse that had miraculously survived the blaze. Areyna dug her heels into his side. He was off like a shot.

Areyna's family hadn't lived far from the next town, Teirm. The past tense sent an icy chill down her spine. There they would purchase supplies.

Peter swore he wasn't surprised to find the town crawling with soldiers from the Empire but they seemed to scare him nonetheless. They sat atop regal mounts in perfectly polished armor, images of death and destruction.

"Where are we going?" he asked after buying some gloves to protect his hands while they healed.

"To the Varden," Areyna answered in hushed tones. She had heard stories of the new rider from there. If they could find him, he could teach them everything they needed to know. Maybe they could even help fight the empire. When she expressed this thought to Peter his eyes lit up.

"Sure," he said animatedly, "anything to defeat those soulless monsters."

The dragon stirred from inside the saddle pouch. Just their luck, one of the Empire soldiers noticed and trotted over to their horse. Areyna touched her sword instinctively.

"What's that?" he asked, suspicion tainting his voice.

"N…nothing," Areyna stammered, then cursed herself for being so foolish. Before she could stop him, the soldier used the edge of his sword to lift the flap. He gasped when he saw what was inside.

"A dra…" He never got to finish his sentence. A gurgled cry escaped his lips as Areyna bashed his uncovered head with the side of her blade. Peter stepped over the unconscious man and ended his misery.

"Nobody can find out about this, unless we want to die," he said in response to Areyna's horror.

Another guard was coming to investigate the cries. They'd been lucky nobody had seen the first one go down.

"Get on, quick!" Areyna shouted, swinging a leg over the saddle. A hard kick urged Midnight on.

"Close the gate!" the guard screeched. The heavy gate scraped against the ground as the guards pulled it closed. If it closed all the way, there was no hope of escape. Through her teeth, Areyna cursed. She leaned close to Midnight's neck, hot from the heat of the day.

"Come on!" she urged. It seemed like the gate was getting farther away instead of closer. Midnight put on a burst of speed. It was going to be tight…

"Whew!" Areyna cheered as Midnight's flank brushed the closing doors. She squeezed her eyes shut as they passed. Her one distinctive quality was her eyes. One was forest green, the other violet. She was sure people would be searching for her.

**I hope that was good, especially the action part. If it wasn't I promise it will get better. I'm also trying to think of a name for the dragon (it's male) so suggestions would be awesome.**

**I'll try to update soon but I'm really busy with school and gymnastics so it might be awhile.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I just got at least 3 story alert e-mails and I felt really guilty about this story. Sorry for not posting sooner. I got an extreme case of writer's block and when I worked through it… well, I must be the queen of procrastination. I know what I want to do with this story for at least a few chapters so I'll probably have an update around tomorrow.**

**Thanks for having some faith in me! It's better than I've had lately…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok. This time, I actually wrote a piece of the story! I can't promise regular updates, especially with my major English paper finally in full swing, but it definitely won't be months… I really hope. Thanks for the dragon names**

Peter sat poking the fire with a stick, lost in thought over what had just transpired. He and his sister had just been thrown into the world alone, with just the clothes on their backs, his bow and arrow, and the berries Areyna hadn't spilled when she dropped the basket.

He didn't care to think about what had happened to his parents and younger brother. What he needed to focus on now was his sister. Mourning would be possible only after they had reached Surda, where the rumor had it the Varden was located now.

After assuring himself that the fire from the campsite they had created couldn't be seen through the trees, he allowed himself to relax. He looked over at Areyna. Her blonde hair provided a shield concealing her face. He couldn't read the emotions there but he presumed they were much like his own. Fear and uncertainty being the most prominent.

"What now Peter?" she questioned.

"We're going to the Varden," he answered automatically, though he knew that wasn't what she was looking for.

"That's not what I mean. We were always supported by some outside force in our lives. Our parents, friends, elders. We don't have that anymore. It is a vast world out there. Can we navigate it by ourselves?"

He shrugged. Honesty was a large part of their relationship. They had made it a policy never to lie to each other, while the rest of the world lied to them. He knew at least he could trust her. Most of the time that was enough.

"I can't tell you that now, Areyna. But I will protect you. And…" He indicated the dragon.

A wrinkle appeared in Areyna's brow. "I still haven't decided what to call him yet."

"How do you know it's a male?"

"I just do, somehow. It's as if he's speaking to me."

"We'll decide on something another day," Peter decided. "For now, we shouldn't tarry in one place for very long." With that, he rolled over on the ground and tried to sleep. It evaded him and his sister. He could see her eyes glowing in the dark. The time where they had shared everything had passed. Peter had the suspicion that she was headed somewhere he could never hope to follow. But he would be there for her, every step of what appeared to be a very long journey ahead.

**I know that was short. This was basically a filler chapter I guess. I thought it would be interesting to view things a bit from Peter's side. Reviews are always welcome! Well, more than welcome. They help feed my muse, which must be comatose at the moment. And since I forgot to write a disclaimer, I don't own Eragon or any of the Inheritance Cycle. Just Areyna and Peter. **

**I have a suspicion the author's notes are going to be longer than the actual story…**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! It took me about three weeks to write this chapter and I have no idea why. I'm kind of running short on ideas, so any feedback at all would be appreciated. I want to bring in some characters from The Inheritance Cycle, but I seem to do better with my own characters. I guess we'll see. **

Areyna turned over in her sleep, frustrated beyond measure. Her body kept urging her to shut her eyes, yet something pulled them open again. Something was keeping her awake.

She looked enviously over at Peter, who was perfectly still, not quite relaxed, yet asleep. They had a long journey ahead of them and she needed to be rested. She glanced over at the dragon, wings curled in on itself, eyes gleaming bright. It stared at her with such intensity that she pulled back, just a bit.

_Don't be afraid._

It seemed to be impossible but the dragon was talking to her. Who else could it have been? And she somehow just knew.

"Wh…what do you want?" Her voice trembled

_I mean you no harm, Areyna Vasili._

"I never told you my name," she ventured.

_And yet I know it. Haven't you ever heard of the bond between a dragon and its Rider?_

"Its Rider?" Areyna repeated. The full impact of this event had not hit her until that very moment. She had heard whispers of a new Rider rising up. He planned to take on the tyrant king and save them all. She and Peter had dismissed them all to be mere fiction, fanciful stories that were fabricated to feed the flame of hope they thrived on.

Perhaps there was really a Rider out there. Could she be the next? Could she possibly survive long enough to be the next? She did know one thing. She had to reach the Varden. They would have the answers.

Tentatively she reached forward, lightly placing her hand on the dragon's forehead, as one may stroke a cat. Something fiery shot up her hand, throwing her backwards just slightly. She wondered what had jolted her. Touching the dragon had felt like sticking one's hand on an open flame. Turning her palm so it faced upwards, she searched for the burn, eyes widening at what she found instead.

A shimmery silver mark glimmered on her hand. It fascinated her. She stared at the mark until when she closed her eyes all she saw was silver. What exactly did this mean?

_You have been marked, _the dragon whispered. Areyna cast a fearful glance at Peter, who had not stirred. She continued to look from the mark to her dragon, unable to sleep for the rest of the night.

**It's been awhile since I've read Eragon so I don't remember how exactly Saphira interacted with him at the beginning. I think it's time for me to stop putting off naming the dragon so that should come in the next chapter. Reviews would be an amazing belated Christmas present!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am VERY sorry, but my muse has died on this story. I just realized it took me about a year to get this far and any ideas I might have had just ran out. Later, I may reopen this story and finish it, but for now, unless I suddenly have some inspiration, this story is going on hiatus. **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing, and I hope I don't disappoint anybody by discontinuing this, but since my updates were so sporadic and few, I doubt I did. **

**From now on, I think I'll stick with oneshots. I'm working on a Sweeney Todd one now if anyone's interested that should be posted in a few days.**


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